Summary
Objectives/Hypothesis
The objective of this study was to determine whether vocal tract semi-occlusion (SOVT)
influenced stress effects on pharyngeal air pressure and upper esophageal sphincter
(UES) pressure during phonation. Relationships between dysphonia and stress are well
recognized but poorly understood. Stress effects act globally on the body, and may
be observed beyond intrinsic laryngeal muscles to include pharyngeal muscles and the
UES, which contribute to voice modulation. Phonation with SOVT may provide resistance
to stress effects on the vocal tract. We hypothesized that stress effects on pharyngeal
air pressure and UES pressure would be measurable with a high-resolution, 360° pressure
catheter, and that stress effects would be impacted differently by occlusal and non-occlusal
phonatory tasks.
Methods
Ten healthy adults performed sustained vowel tasks (comfortable /a/, and loud /a/),
and SOVT tasks (bilabial fricative and straw phonation). Each task was performed during
a baseline condition, and during stress induced through a cold pressor task. Pharyngeal
air pressure and UES pressure were measured via high-resolution manometry. Changes
in pressure between baseline and stress were compared among phonatory tasks.
Results
Stress-induced changes to UES pressure differed by phonatory task (P < 0.01). Stress increased UES pressures during vowels, but had no effect during bilabial
fricative, and decreased UES pressures during straw phonation. Change in UES pressure
with stress was greater for comfortable /a/ and loud /a/ than straw phonation (P = 0.048 and P = 0.019, respectively), and was not significantly different between comfortable /a/
or loud /a/ and bilabial fricative. Stress-induced changes in pharyngeal air pressure
were not significantly different among tasks.
Conclusions
These findings help identify possible mechanisms underlying the relationship between
stress and voice, and point to the utility of SOVT tasks for training vocal tract
resistance to stress. This methodology provides a foundation for measuring changes
to extra-laryngeal components of the vocal tract during phonation.
Key Words
Abbreviations:
SOVT (Semi-occluded vocal tract), UES (Upper esophageal sphincter), HRM (High-resolution manometry), F0 (Fundamental frequency)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 28, 2022
Accepted:
July 22,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
This research was presented at the Voice Foundation Annual Symposium, Philadelphia, PA, on 5 June 2022.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
